Part 1: Thinking things through

So...I've written letters to my mom, my family, and my friends.  I have yet to send them out, or even decide how I'm going to send them out.  I may do email. I may do a newsletter. But I will probably do email for most people. My parents are likely to get a hand-written letter.

But here's the deal:
I had two accepting moms read my letter last weekend and one was not impressed.  She said it was cold and not emotional enough.  Here's the thing, though: I'm not an emotional person.  My relationship with my parents isn't an emotional one.  It is a practical one at best.  Sure, we love each other, but we don't connect on any emotional levels, really. I mean, this thing is probably going to feel to them as if it is out of left field and I don't know how to mitigate that.  So maybe being more emotional in the letter will do that.  But maybe it'll just feel maudlin and not authentic to them.

I really like my letter the way it is.  It may start out a little abruptly, but how do you really segue suavely and smoothly into, "Mom and Dad, I'm a boy?"  Am I supposed to be a little newsy at first, and then approach the subject? Or do I just approach it and see what happens?

So, issue number two that was raised, was: do I tell my parents my plans to tell other family members or to leave other family members out of the loop?  Mom No. 1 seemed to think I should let my parents decide who knows and who doesn't.  But really, how is it their choice? I think it is my choice to decide who knows what and when. This is my story, not theirs.  Yes, they're associated with it, but it is really just my deal.  They can't exercise control over me, right?  So I guess I know where I stand on that one.

So the question remains: Do I make my letter more emotional or let it stand.  I've been perusing the letter all day and I just can't come up with more to say or a different way to say it. I may just sit on it for a while.